Eugenie Bouchard suffers "concussion-like symptoms" during loss to Elina Svitolina in Kuala Lumpur
When Genie Bouchard sat down after the second set of her rain-plagued final at the Malaysian Open Sunday night, the tears, the care provided by the medical staff – all of it looked eerily familiar, as you can see in the comparison photos from our original post on the match.
It turns out the 22-year-old Canadian had a recurrence of concussion-like symptoms although, unlike in Beijing last fall when she had to retire against Germany's Andrea Petkovic in the only match she played after the incident at the US Open Sept. 4, she carried on.
“I felt concussion-like symptoms and I was struggling with my energy levels towards the end. The medical staff also strongly advised me not to continue during the second set but there was no way I was going to retire in a final," Bouchard told the media in quotes republished here are from the Malaysia Star.
“I think I gave it my all and I fought well. Now I just need to go on to my next tournament and do well there," she added.
The hot, humid weather all week had certainly affected Bouchard, who wore an ice towel on just about every changeover – and even during the time she waited on court for the trophy ceremony late Sunday night.
She also had experienced dizziness during her quarter-final match against Cagla Buyukakcay of Turkey. In the second set, when she appeared to have a routine victory well in hand, she had a medical timeout and lost several games in a row before closing it out.
Now, the Canadian has to take a long flight to California (never a good thing for someone in her situation) ahead of the big tournament at Indian Wells where, unseeded this year, she will have to play a first-round match either Wednesday or Thursday.
A story to follow in the coming days.